


Relief

by mon0worldd



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Ash and Eiji go to Japan, Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Canon Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24332728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mon0worldd/pseuds/mon0worldd
Summary: When Eiji Okumura lands in Tokyo with a bunch of missed calls and texts from various people all talking about a certain Ash Lynx being found in the New York Public Library on the verge of death, he's too disoriented to process anything.But, thank the gods, his precious Aslan survives the attack. He's back on his feet in no time (if 4 weeks is anywhere close to fast) and misses Eiji like hell.
Relationships: Ash Lynx & Okumura Eiji, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji
Comments: 5
Kudos: 66





	1. walking on glass would be better than this

_Ash got stabbed._

Those three words were enough to get my world to stop in its tracks.

***

I had just landed in Tokyo after 14 uncomfortable hours of worrying about all those I had left behind in New York, both friend or foe, dead or alive. My head pounded for many different reasons, one being the jet lag and another being my lack of satisfying closure from Ash Lynx.

Guided by Ibe and my doting mother, I sat down on a bench at Arrivals, and sighed, a sense of uneasiness clawing at my stomach as I leaned against my wheelchair. The bullet wounds still throbbed, causing physical pain, but also a psychological pain, a longing for my time in America despite how bitter it had been.

My parents were by my side and comforting me with all they could, but my head and my judgment were so clouded by everything that I could barely hear anything. They had been briefly informed of the situation, but probably not enough to understand why I would act so distant, so . . . hurt.   
After a good nine months flitting from hideout to hideout and witnessing deaths almost daily, I wasn't sure who to consider close and who to be wary of. Even my own family had me on edge, wishing I had some gun by my side to point at any suspicious noise.

*

"Eiji. _Eiji!_ Jesus Christ, is he okay?"

I partially snapped back to reality. My little sister, Mei, was tapping my forehead with alarm.

"Nii-chan, you good?" muttered the 14-year-old as she hauled me up from my slouch on the metal bench. "You blanked out and started breathing all weird."

"Wh-where's my gun?" I mumbled in my stupor, fumbling with my jacket's pockets. "I swear he left it right. . ." My voice gave out before I could finish and I slumped my head against the wall, closing my eyes and sighing, fully back in check. 

"Gun?" asked my mother, an edge of alarm to her voice that powered over the concern. " _His_ gun?" She turned to Ibe, who only hung his head. 

"Ibe-san." The man looked up and into my eyes. "How much _did_ you tell them?" I asked, forgetting to hide the steely touch to my tone.   
He hesitated, then gestured with his hand. "Come with me, Ei-chan." 

We entered the bathrooms, keeping our habit of checking behind us every few seconds to assure that, no, nobody was currently targeting us and waiting for the perfect moment to strike and kill or strike and take hostage. It was rather silly that even while in Japan, the fear plagued us. 

Ibe leaned against the wall with another careful glance. "I only told them that you got hurt and would be in a wheelchair. I didn't mention the deaths, Banana Fish, or Ash whatsoever. Simply that our time in America is a sensitive topic. Please try to refraining from talking about guns and knives like that. You can, can't you?"

What a strange question. Could I really stop thinking about weapons? About a mind-control drug, gang wars, getting taken hostage, and everything else that I had been through? Was it really possible to simply halt all memories from that time and never off-handedly mention it ever again?

Ibe's words seemed to relieve me, but they also brought up a new thought. "I do have to tell them someday, though." 

*

We returned to the Arrivals, where Mei was anxiously gripping an unopened chicken wrap from a nearby store.   
"Dinner?" She handed it to me as we approached. "You look starving."

"Thanks, sis." I took a bite and fished my phone from my pocket. I hadn't touched it since takeoff.

At the press of a button, my screen lit up, and as I peered at some of my notifications, I paused.

No. No, this can't be real. I'm dreaming. I will wake up and find myself in a nice room with Aslan Callenreese by my side and out of danger.

I couldn't move or breathe, because right at the top of my string of missed calls were texts in English from a certain Sing Soo-Ling;

_Ash was found at the library with a stab wound._

_No vital organs hit though._

_Lao did it. He's dead now. Bullet._

_I think Ash shot him._

_Where are you?_

I staggered into a wall and dropped the wrap.   
About ten meters away, my family and Ibe were chatting away without a worry in the world, and here I was, on the verge of a panic attack.

"No, no, no, no," I muttered, taking wide, heavy steps towards the quartet.

He can't die. Ash _can_ not and _will_ not die from a stupid man with a stupid knife. 

"Ibe?" I rasped. The four of them spun and watched as I stumbled in their direction. "Ibe, Ash. . . Ash, he–" I fell to my knees, hyperventilating and gripping my chest with deadly strength.   
I hung my head and tried to control my breathing.

"EIJI?!" Four sets of footsteps rushed my way, and around us the voices and noises gradually died down.

"Ei-chan, what happened?"

I looked up, tears running down my face. "Ash got stabbed," I whispered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright SO 
> 
> only the first few chapters will be angsty like this, because as soon as ash gets better we take a turn for the cute, so dw! <3


	2. if you die, i'll kill you, aslan

After a good two days or so of light appetites, trying to get back on track with school, and nightmares, paired with my father, my mother, Mei and Ibe spending their days comforting me, we received more news through Max, who was somehow still in New York. 

Ash, following a blood transplant and a heavy amount of stitches, was more or less okay. Of course, his body was full of all sorts of scars in all sorts of places, leaving the doctors puzzled and concerned. He was to stay in the hospital for a few more days after his recovery so they could strain whatever info they could out of the boy with the difficult _everything_. 

Part of me didn't care about his injuries anymore. He had been getting too many of those in the time I'd known him that the thought rarely plagued me. As long as he wasn't dead and I could talk to him normally, I was happy. That's what my train of thought had become.

Unfortunately, at the moment only one of those two requirements was true.   
I still wasn't able to reach out to him, for our timezones were drastically different, and even though I would stay up until 3 am almost every night to avoid bad dreams, apparently the damned Aslan was so exhausted he would fall into slumber even faster than usual. 

According to Max, and, surprisingly, Sing, he would spend his time awake rambling all star-eyed to the doctors about me, if he wasn't cursing the life out of Lao ("Well not exactly 'the life', but you get it," said Soo-Ling through the phone one day.) 

I was ready to pull literal all-nighters just to talk to him. 

Soon enough two weeks passed, and I'm handed a phone by Ibe when he comes knocking at our door, excitedly slurring his words.   
"Ei-channn, it's Ash!" he exclaims. 

Faster than I could blink, I grabbed the device and held it to my ear. "Hello?" I asked frantically. 

_"Chill, Eiji. It's me."_ The familiar voice of Ash Lynx brought a warmth to my chest I hadn't felt in weeks. A knot formed in my throat.

"Oh, thank the gods you can speak normally."

_"Jeez, it was just a stab wound to my gut. I can talk just fine. What, did you expect some raspy ass voice like I smoked three packs in a row?"_

I felt my mother grip my shoulder as Ash and I conversed, making me slightly flinch. She probably couldn't understand our rapid-fire English, but she understood my emotions. The hand was a hand of comfort like always.

 _"Listen, the docs here are telling me I could be back on my feet in two weeks, tops,"_ states Ash, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"God, yeah, that's great." I tried my best to suppress my emotions, because I felt like if I expressed them in their true nature the world would break into halves. 

_"And, uh,"_ he said shyly, lowering his voice, _"About the letter. . ."_

"Yeah? What is it?"

_"The day of the flight was quite a while ago, right? Would you mind maybe helping me buy another ticket?"_

And with his one suggestion the tears came flowing out. "Oh come on, Ash," I began speaking in Japanese without realizing it. "You stole over 90 million dollars in stock from that dickhead's companies, and now you're having trouble buying a plane ticket to Tokyo?"

Ash was silent for a count of thirty seconds while I sobbed. _"Eiji, are you crying?"_

I switched back to English and spoke at a slower pace to wipe at my eyes. "Yes, I'm crying, dumbass! I missed you."

His laugh sounded clear as day and loud enough to be heard through the receiver.   
_"I missed you too. I don't know what you said earlier, but I'll assume it's got something to do with money._ _I don't want to use_ that _money."_

"I get it," I said, because I somewhat did. In fear of getting my parents shaken by mentioning the _dickwad_ that was Dino Golzine, I glossed over it. "I'll get to registering the ticket later then. And, Ash?" 

_"Yes, sweetheart?"_

"Oh, shush. Don't you dare die again, alright? I'll kill you if you do," I sniffed.

 _"That's a little uncalled for, but sure,"_ he chuckled, and then singsonged, _"I'll be waiting~"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapterrrrrrrrrrrrr


	3. stay by my side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is where stuff starts getting cute :)) 
> 
> im horrible at ao3 tags so im just gonna start putting whatever warnings at the top notes for now LMAOQKNSJ

In the blink of an eye, three weeks to be exact, the fated day came when Ash was finally stable enough — and approved of enough — to be discharged.

When he called me with a fervent eagerness to his voice while I was on my way home from school, I immediately had an idea of his good news. And yet, I still let out a cry of joy when the words passed through the mic and into my ear, earning some strange looks from those in my proximity on the bus.

_"You're gonna have to teach me Japanese though, Eiji. I don't want to find myself stumbling in front of your parents, y'know?"_

Realization dawned; the only Japanese Ash could understand was the occasional slip up of swear words and insults that Ibe and I would have over the months. And, of course, **sayonara** , but the thought of that word made my (although healed) gunshot wounds throb again.

"That's true. I can be a translator for you in the meantime."

I could almost hear Ash's mouth curve into a smile as he let out a soft chuckle. _"Okay._ _See you in three days."_

And with a final hum serving as a goodbye, he hung up.  
I leaned back on the plastic seat of the bus and let out my own content hum.

He's happy with me. Ash is _finally_ happy. No guns, sharp weapons, drugs, rape or dead best friends involved. He's happy and ready to be by my side.

***

I counted down those three days with more motivation than I had put in any homework, like, ever.

I finally laid my foot down at Arrivals and started immediately fidgeting with anything that came into my grasp; my shirt, my nails, the house keys in my pocket, you name it. I was so anxious, so _on edge_ , but for once, it was in a positive context. I was stressed because _oh my god,_ I'm meeting Ash for the first time since a month ago and we won't be sharing tearful goodbyes and wearing disguises and recovering from critical wounds. We'll be safe.

Although there was one problem. A very small one, but a problem nonetheless. 

* * *

_[three hours earlier]_

"What type of stuff do you do with a guy two years your junior who just recovered from a stab wound and used to be a gang member?" I had asked Ibe during the flight from Izumo to Tokyo. 

"Well," replied the man, "You could take him out on a date." 

And I think that's when my heart refused to keep going. 

I turned red and began sputtering. "A-A date?" 

"Yeah!" Ibe turned to the flight attendant passing by to ask for a beer, then turned to me and stifled a laugh upon seeing my expression. "Oh my. Ei-chan, don't tell me you haven't realized it yet." 

"Realized what, exactly?"

"That you love Ash." 

I jumped in my seat and spun to stare out of the window. Below us, the glittering landscape of Tokyo at night made me hold my breath a little longer. Amongst the occasional bunches of clouds, another plane sped away.

"That's not true," I muttered quietly. 

"Head over heels and it's obvious." 

"No. No way. I'm just a friend. I don't think I _can_ be anything else."

Ibe scoffed, leaning back into the seat and taking a sip of his can. "Suit yourself. But you'll realize it eventually." 

* * *

The thought of that exchange still haunted me.

3RD PERSON

After an hour of feeling his patience hit the limit over and over again, a small crowd of people trudged through the hallway on the opposite side of the barrier, and amongst those 15 to 20 people was a mop of blond, tousled hair.

The crowd dissipated little by little as they reached Arrivals, and for the first time in over a month, jade green met chocolate brown, and the latter took off at full speed. 

The next thing either knew, Eiji had his arms snaked around the blond's chest and his face buried in the crook of his neck.   
Ash's hands wavered around the other's back hesitantly.

"Eiji. . .?" he muttered, slumping his face into the black, dishevelled hair below him.

Eiji took in a breath that was slightly shaky as he tightened his grip on the blond. "I'm okay Ash," he said, "It's okay. You don't need to worry anymore." 

At last, Ash's arms closed in with a relieved sigh and a meek "Okay."

Ash couldn't focus on anything other than all of Eiji's little details anymore.

As the elder pulled away and smiled, tears forming at the corners of his eyes, all Ash could look at was the way the curve of Eiji's lips made his slight cupid's bow vanish.

The way his entire body pulsed while they held each other.

The way he chuckled when setting eyes on Ash's blank, unreadable expression, and how his hair and clothes gave off the faintest scent of. . . laundry detergent, was it?

_What is this feeling called?_

"Did you come alone?" asked Ash, the knot in his throat growing bigger by the second. 

Eiji merely hummed. "No, my parents and sister are up by the entrance. They wanted me to come see you on my own." 


End file.
